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Jerome’s Promise was born from pain, survival, love, and the unwavering support of the family members who never gave up on him.

Jerome grew up throughout New York City during the 1980s and 1990s, with Brooklyn being the place he called home for much of his childhood. At an early age, he witnessed his mother battle a devastating illness before losing her when he was only 12 years old. Losing his mother changed the course of his life forever.

After her passing, Jerome faced instability, homelessness, shelters, hardship, and the emotional trauma that many struggling youth silently endure every day. He experienced firsthand what it feels like to feel lost while trying to survive difficult circumstances with little stability.

But through every setback and every hardship, two people remained constant in his life: his mother’s sister and his mother’s mother, who never gave up on him.

Even during the most difficult periods of his life, they continued believing in him, supporting him, encouraging him, and reminding him that he still had value and purpose. Their strength, love, and refusal to abandon him became a lifeline during moments when life felt overwhelming.

Jerome’s memory also lives on through his one and only surviving sister, who misses him deeply every day. Her enduring love for her brother and her commitment to honoring his life continue to inspire the work of Jerome’s Promise and reinforce the organization’s commitment to ensuring that every child, every family, and every missing person is treated with dignity, compassion, and hope.

Their love, perseverance, and unwavering belief in Jerome became one of the greatest inspirations behind Jerome’s Promise.

The organization was founded on the belief that sometimes all it takes is one person—or, in Jerome’s case, two remarkable women in his family who refused to give up on him—to help change the course of a child’s future.

Jerome’s Promise exists to support vulnerable youth, struggling families, and missing children who may feel forgotten, abandoned, or unheard. It was created to provide compassion, advocacy, mentorship, outreach, and hope to those facing crisis and hardship.

Our mission is deeply personal:

To be a voice for children who feel invisible.
To advocate for missing and exploited children.
To support youth and families during times of crisis.
To inspire hope in those struggling to overcome difficult circumstances.
To demonstrate the same compassion, encouragement, and belief that helped carry Jerome through his own hardships.

Jerome’s Promise stands as a tribute not only to survival, but to the power of unconditional love, family, and perseverance. It honors the memory of Jerome, the love of his mother, the unwavering support of his mother’s sister and his mother’s mother, and the enduring love of his one and only surviving sister. Together, their legacy inspires a mission dedicated to ensuring that no child is forgotten, no family faces crisis alone, and every life is valued.